Follow the story of a psychologist as she embarks on an expedition to establish a home on an abandoned planet. Her crew mates like to play pranks but then strange things begin to happen. This book had me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The tagline had me at space horror and that was all I needed to be captivated. A very overlooked, yet niche genre/location. I'm terrified of space, but not enough seem to share that fear, and rarely write about it. This had me drawn to every page, I couldn't stop reading.

3.5 ⭐
There were some passages that I felt could have been edited better, so maybe that will reflect on the final publication, but overall an enjoyable space horror! I wish it had gotten more intense sooner, but the build up wasn't bad.
I enjoyed Dead Silence a lot and will continue reading books by Barnes!

Ghost Station was the first book that I read by S.A. Barnes. I don't often read space exploration horror books however, this one was said to be for fans of Alien so, I figured "what the hell?"

Barnes can weave a good story with great character development and, can also make you feel like you are actually there in the book watching what is happening in person.

Unfortunately however, the story moved a bit too slow for my liking taking too long to get to the punch of the novel. I get that in a psychologically driven story, this is important to set tone and mood however, I felt that for this book, it didn't really hit that way.

Though this book wasn't for me, if you are a fan of sci fi horror and space exploration, then this one could be for you! Just be ready for a slow moving journey that eventually comes to an ending you might feel satisfying!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read Ghost Station.

I absolutely loved Dead Silence. I was super excited to get to read Ghost Station. However, this one didn’t keep my attention the same way. There seemed to be extra parts to the story that weren’t necessary. I get that Ophelia’s background was part of the build up/ story telling but I found that I just wasn’t as interested in that. I wanted to know more about what was happening to the crews. Show me the madness that comes with ERS. The story seemed to drag through the middle. The fighting between the crew and the doctor didn’t really add to feeling isolated. It just felt like squabbling. I want to say I see the aspects of the story, but they just didn’t do what they were intended (for me at least). However, I also cannot say how to do better. Just saying how it felt as a reader.

I am still going to read more from SA Barnes as long as she continues to write sci fi / horror. This just wasn’t my favorite.

This is the first book by this author I've read, and although it's a slow starter, it turned out to be a good science fiction story about planet exploration and the perils it involves.

Ophelia Bray is a psychotherapist assigned to a Reclamation and Exploration Team to map and explore a planet whose salvageable rights have just been acquired. Her goal is to detect the early warning signs of Eckhart-Reiser syndrome (ERS), a condition that, if it is not caught early, can cause psychotic breaks, violence, and insanity. Along with her own emotional baggage, the team she joins has just suffered the traumatic loss of a crewmember and resents Ophelia's inclusion on this mission. She must overcome her own demons and try to win over the crew if she will be of help.

Once on the planet, crewmembers begin displaying unusual behavioral systems that may or may not be associated with ERS. It's up to Ophelia to figure out what is happening before she, too, is affected.

The book's first third is a slog as Ophelia seems to psychoanalyze every situation and individual, including herself. However, the pace picks up once the action starts on the planet, and this turns into an exciting action-adventure read. It is an atmospheric story with a touch of horror thrown in to keep things interesting. Overall, I enjoyed this book. 4/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is April 9, 2024.

This was a two star book for me up until the 80% mark. The horror really delivered at the end of the story (which is why it’s 3 stars instead of 2), but it just took too long to get there. I didn’t enjoy the pacing and I felt that the book could have been shortened and had the same impact. The author also unnecessarily talked about pee twice in chapter three and it was just weird in my opinion. Some of the things that I did like were the atmospheric setting and the creativity with the truth behind what was really going on on the planet.

I love that the sci-fi/horror genre has really taken off in the past year or so, and I thought this was a great entry into the canon. I read these to see if my husband will like it, and to keep my literary mind open with all kinds of genres I wouldn't normally pick up, and I enjoyed this one more than most actually! Well written and paced just right, this was a thrill of a story that allowed me to suspend my disbelief for a while.

A greedy, rich, murderous family, a chance to redeem herself, a trip in spacy to another planet. Ophelia, a psychologist is on a mission with a team who doesn't trust her. When they arrive on the planet, weird things start to happen. She is trapped on this ancient planet that clearly has some type of life as there are buildings rising from the snow. When a teammate dies a gruesome death, the crew must work together and overcome their pasts. I definitely enjoyed this book! Space, aliens, greedy corporations, and people who do not trust you based on your family.

I think one of my new favorite genres is sci fi horror. And S.A. Barnes is one of my favorite authors of that genre.

She writes the future so well. Even the future tech is written in a way that a time traveler would understand. She also writes isolation well. The sense of being alone in a great expanse of the unknowable.

I felt like this was a tale of classism and the haves and have nots. The setting was another planet, but the same dynamic we see today was at play. Blue collar workers not having the support that they need and the elite 1% exploiting everyone below them.

The character development was wonderful and I loved the flash backs for the main character, Ophelia Bray. They’re given to you in pieces until the twist is thrown out there.

Oh, and there’s lots of body horror as well. Trigger warnings for creepy crawlies beneath the skin.

Space horror at its finest.

Creepy, atmospheric, and tension-filled, this sci-fi horror novel is quick read with a plot that gradually builds until you’re not able to turn the pages fast enough. The characters were engaging and I found myself having a lot of fun reading it despite the intensity.

First of all, thanks to Tor and Netgalley for this e-Arc!

I've been wanting to read a book by S.A. Barnes since the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards, in which she was nominated for best science fiction. The idea of a horror book that happens in the space caught my attention since the first second I knew about it. This is why I decided to request a galley for Barnes' new book: Ghost Station.

Ghost Station captures that trapped feeling I crave in a good space thriller, a mix of exhilaration and claustrophobia. It's a gripping read, and I can easily picture it becoming a chilling movie.

The main character, Ophelia Bray, is a psychologist seeking redemption from her troubled past. She joins a mission with a noble purpose. Yet, unease creeps in upon arrival. Their task: to retrieve artifacts from a seemingly abandoned planet. The previous crew's hasty departure and chillingly personal belongings left behind hint at something sinister.

Now, even though S.A. Barnes, excels at crafting an unsettling atmosphere, this book was slow-paced. The horror escalates, but without tipping into outright jump scares. I would say reading this book was entertaining but it was amazing that special something that would make me give it more than 4 stars.

Ghost Station follows Dr. Bray, a psychologist who gets assigned to a team of planet explorers to test out different therapies to prevent a mental illness that has been afflicting astronauts. I think this story is best when you go in relatively blind to the plot past that!

I really enjoyed this. The claustrophobia, the mystery, and the intriguing settings all really lent themselves nicely to an entertaining, fast-paced story. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and TorNightfire for this ARC!

I read Dead Silence by Barnes a few weeks back and I liked it, but didn’t love it.

I felt the same way with Ghost Station. I was slightly confused through the first half, but by the second half I was fully invested! Unfortunately I was let down by the ending. That being said, I found this story to be very interesting. I’m not a huge sci-fi reader but I think fans of it will like this one!

So here’s the set up. Ophelia’s life mission has been the study and prevention of ERs a type of space PTSD that can be deadly to space explorers. She’s also running from her past and the crimes of her father. So she joins a crew as they survey an abandoned isolated planet but right from the start things are off. It looks like the previous team left in a hurry and the station is in disarray. The rest of the crew plays it off as if it’s a prank by the previous residents to spook them, but little things start to add up and they are about to discover much worse.

Space Horror, I’m here for it! The isolation and feeling of claustrophobia with nowhere to run and no one to help you along with creepy abandoned spaces, being snowed in, and body horror creates such a delightfully tense read. This has it all and I kind of loved it. It kept me turning the pages late into the night. The story and atmosphere build up at just the right pace and Ophelia’s past adds another dark layer to it.

This is great for fans of Alien and The Thing or readers who enjoyed the author’s previous novel, Dead Silence. It’s tense and suspenseful and will keep you reading late into the night!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Great for fans of the Aliens movies/books. It has a similar vibe; however, this one left me wanting more than what I got. Felt like the jar was left half empty. There’s a neat exploration of how sins of the past haunt us. But it lacks stuff happening when I wanted stuff to happen.

While I enjoyed this author's previous work, Dead Silence. I don't think this hit the same tone for me as before. I think the book was pretty thrilling at times but the characters and plot in general didn't hold my interest as much. I would still love to read from this author's work in the future, though.

Thank you @tornightfire #partner for the #gifted copy of this book and e-book!

Looking to go on an intense, creepy, eerie wild ride to space? I certainly was when I hopped on this trip to this abandoned planet! Ophelia Bray is psychologist that studies and tries to prevent a condition, ERS, that shows up in space and is responsible for a mass amount of people dying…no being murdered….in space. She is assigned a small crew and tries her best to fit in however she thinks they are hiding something from her. The crew is awfully focused on trying to undermine why the previous crew left so abruptly. Ophelia tries to stay focused on the purpose she’s there and then the captain is found murdered. Ophelia is now faced with trying to figure out if this is the start of ERS and the unraveling of the crew or if something else is at play!

I felt like this book could easily be a made into an action packed movie! It very much felt like one as I flipped through these intensely written pages! Space creeps me out on a normal day but add some horror to the mix and it’s absolutely terrifying! This book is well written and the perfect “race against time” book. It definitely kept my heart racing as I watched the insanity unfold. There is just something about being in an isolated place fighting against an unknown disease or crazy people that leave me wanting to not stop until I know what happens! This was my first book by this author and I wouldn’t love to see what other scarring world they come up with! Thank you again #tornightfire

My thanks to NetGalley for making this eARC available to me.

Lots of nice suspense, and horrific backstory revealed a bit at a time. Kept me wondering what was going on, who was good, who was bad, who would survive. Very nice blend of sci-fi and horror.

"A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

Space exploration can be lonely and isolating.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS - a space-based condition most famous for a case that resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. When she's assigned to a small exploration crew, she's eager to make a difference. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something.

While Ophelia focuses on her new role, her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer's hasty departure than opening up to her. That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia's worst nightmare starting - a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what's happening. But trust is hard to come by...and the crew isn't the only one keeping secrets."

I love what amounts to haunted house stories in outer space.